What do we need – and what do we need to be rid of?

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Welcome to the latest edition of Territories, the Inhabit newsletter. This time we skip the preface and get right to the goods. We’ve got two brand new pieces for you.

The first is an extensive interview with Ingrid Burrington, a wide-ranging conversation that touches on the power of Amazon, supply chains and surveillance capitalism, the limits of DIY medical equipment, going to the moon, and resistance in a time of isolation.

The second is a survey we conducted with rural organizersto see how they’re coping with and responding to the pandemic, covering everything from rural mutual aid to countryside commons, from metropolitan exodus to post-pandemic futures.

For good measure, we’ve also updated the popular Coronavirus Reading List with the best stuff we’ve read in recent weeks.

An interview with Ingrid Burrington

There’s some truth to the idea that we only notice the structures around us when they start to break down. Recent months have been an extended lesson in what happens when systems stretch, snap, and give way – as well as a cruel reminder of who usually makes out fine and who doesn’t make it out at all. We can think of no better guide to the contemporary landscape of systems, infrastructure, and logistical power than the brilliant and reliably curious Ingrid Burrington, an artist, writer, and researcher whose work explores the materiality of our networked world. In this extensive conversation, you’ll find her thoughts on Amazon, medical supply chains, and even what we can learn from outer space (we were surprised, too).

Rural perspectives on coronavirus and the post-pandemic future

We’ve read a lot about coronavirus from those stuck in cities, holed up in apartments as governments decree the latest measures and services grow scarce. We’ve heard less from those in the countryside about their experiences since the pandemic began. In recent weeks, we called up a dozen friends variously involved in small farms, rural collectives, land projects, and more to learn what we could. Here we splice together what they said, honing in on common themes and shared insight into our circumstances, wherever we may find ourselves. It’s a snapshot of collective intelligence, a portrait of struggle in a hundred guises, and a glimpse of hard-won hopes for the future.